Reliving ‘My So-Called Life”

“My So-Called Life” is the one coming-of-age TV series that still totally gets to me.

Though made more than 20 years after my own adolescence, the drama that launched the careers of Claire Danes and Jared Leto never fails to bring me back to those painful ups and downs at Alamo Heights Junior High and Providence High  the crushes, emotional stomachaches, dreaded skin-breakouts, even the unexpected triumphs.

To me, this mid-’90s show was the most real of any of the dramas covering teen years. C’mon, both “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Dawson’s Creek” were fantasies by comparison. Maybe that’s why “Life” lasted such a short time  just one season. Was it too close to home for people to want to watch?

I bring it up now, more than 10 years later, because of a wonderful gift that debuts on video shelves today: “My So-Called Life: The Complete Series” from Shout! Factory.

This beautifully packaged DVD set features all 19 episodes of the ABC series and a full disc of bonus features. These include looks back at the series by a grown-up Danes, writer Winnie Holzman and producer Ed Zwick  and how the series mirrored and influenced their own lives.

There’s also a wonderful little companion book  made to look like a school composition book  that serves as a guide to the series and includes tributes by fans such as Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy and Firefly) and actress Janeane Garofalo.

But the real strength and beauty of this set are the rich and heartbreaking episodes themselves. I identified mostly with Danes’ Angela Chase, the good girl from the middle-class background who longs to be bad but never can really cross that line; I even dyed my hair fiery red at one point the way she does in the pilot.

However, the variety of other characters  and the complexities of each  also makes me recall the different people who touched my life during my youth: Rayanne Graff (A.J. Langer), the wild-child fast girl in school that’s both admired and feared. Rickie Vasquez (Wilson Cruz), the good friend who’s sexually ambiguous and hasn’t quite exited the closet. Jordan Catalano (Leto), the gorgeous, out-of-the-mainstream guy who’s been held back twice. Brian Krakow (Devon Gummersall) and Sharon Cherski (Devon Odessa), the seemingly nice and wholesome kids from your childhood days that you think you want to leave behind even if you feel sad doing it.

All of them, thanks to sensitive and perceptive writing, have many sides, both dark and light, depending on their experience of the moment.

As an adult watching, I also am extremely grateful for the main parents as well  Patty (Bess Armstrong) and Graham Chase (Tom Irwin). They’re attractive, imperfect and, at times, confused people, too; characters that make marriage and parenthood just as interesting as what Angela and her friends are going through.

As for the timelessness and universality of “My So-Called Life,” I showed the series to my teenage son, and he was just as enthralled with it as I was on first viewing.

So, why not give yourself a present and invest in this remarkable DVD set. Believe me, you and those close to you will get a lot from it for years to come.